The present invention is directed to the sale of computer software and more particularly to a technique for the sale and distribution of software via telephone.
The sale and distribution of software designed for general use is predicated on the assumption that the seller only wishes to sell the right to use the software. The seller specifically does not wish the purchaser to distribute the software to other users. Various methods are employed to accomplish this goal. Since the most common method of distribution is via floppy disk, the purchaser is often restricted by various techniques from either duplicating the floppies or in some cases from using the same floppies on different computers. This results in undesirable side effects.
In the personal computer environment, protection schemes designed to prevent the purchaser from copying the software usually prevent the purchaser from storing the software on hard disk, which would be most convenient. Furthermore, since the software cannot be copied if the floppy disk containing the software is damaged, it must be replaced by the seller. This is often time consuming and always inconvenient. Some sellers have gone to the trouble of including a back up copy of the software along with the original to lessen the inconvenience. Although this is effective in providing a back-up copy, it defeats the seller's desire to prevent proliferation of the software.
Some sellers of general purpose software have avoided software copy protection schemes, instead relying on the honesty of the purchaser, the fact that the documentation can be made difficult to duplicate, and a license agreement which the purchaser is required to honor. The license agreement typically makes it illegal to copy the software or proliferate it by any other means. License agreements are virtually always required by the seller as part of the purchase agreement, regardless of whether the software is protected or not.
Lack of copy protection introduces yet another complexity in the sale and distribution of software. Because software is expensive to purchase, potential buyers would like to examine the software prior to purchase to insure it will perform as expected. Should the software not be copy protected, the seller would not be able to loan the software to a potential purchaser for fear that, if they did like it, they would simply copy it. Thus, non-protected software can only be demonstrated at the seller's location. This can be inconvenient to the potential purchaser who may want a number of people to review the software prior to purchase.
Until now, general purpose software for sale has been primarily distributed on floppy disks, since floppy disks can be readily protected. Software distributed via telephone lines has been typically public domain where protection is not an issue.
There is a need for a technique which will permit copy protection of software distributed by telephone. There is also a need for a technique of efficiently distributing software by telephone, whether the software is copy protected or not.